"The courage to take a risk"

Message of Pope Francis for the 2019 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, on May 12. Through the call He addresses to each person, our Lord "opens before our eyes the horizon of a greater sea and an abundant catch."

After the lively and fruitful experience of the Synod devoted to
young people last October, we recently celebrated the Thirty-fourth
World Youth Day in Panama City. These two great events allowed the
Church to be attentive both to the voice of the Spirit and to the life
of young men and women, their questions and concerns, their problems and
their hopes.

Building on what I shared with the young people in Panama, I would
like to reflect, on this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, on how the
Lord’s call makes us bearers of a promise and, at the same time, asks of us the courage to take a risk,
with him and for him. I will do this by reflecting briefly with you on
these two aspects – promise and risk – as they appear in the Gospel
account of the calling of the first disciples by the sea of Galilee (Mk 1:16-20).

Two pairs of brothers – Simon and Andrew, and James and John – are
going about their daily tasks as fishermen. In this demanding work,
they had learned the laws of nature, yet at times, when the winds were
adverse and waves shook their boats, they had to defy the elements. On
some days, the catch of fish amply repaid their efforts, but on others,
an entire night’s work was not sufficient to fill their nets, and they
had to return to shore weary and disappointed.

Much of life is like that. Each of us tries to realize his or her
deepest desires; we engage in activities that we hope will prove
enriching, and we put out on a “sea” of possibilities in the hope of
steering the right course, one that will satisfy our thirst for
happiness. Sometimes we enjoy a good catch, while at others, we need
courage to keep our boat from being tossed by the waves, or we are
frustrated at seeing our nets come up empty.

As with every call, the Gospel speaks of an encounter. Jesus walks
by, sees those fishermen, and walks up to them... The same thing
happened when we met the person we wanted to marry, or when we first
felt the attraction of a life of consecration: we were surprised by an
encounter, and at that moment we glimpsed the promise of a joy capable
of bringing fulfilment to our lives. That day, by the sea of Galilee,
Jesus drew near to those fishermen, breaking through the “paralysis of
routine” (Homily for the XXII World Day for Consecrated Life, 2 February 2018). And he immediately made them a promise: “I will make you fishers of men” (Mk 1:17).

The Lord’s call is not an intrusion of God in our freedom; it is not a
“cage” or a burden to be borne. On the contrary, it is the loving
initiative whereby God encounters us and invites us to be part of a
great undertaking. He opens before our eyes the horizon of a greater
sea and an abundant catch.

God in fact desires that our lives not become banal and predictable,
imprisoned by daily routine, or unresponsive before decisions that could
give it meaning. The Lord does not want us to live from day to day,
thinking that nothing is worth fighting for, slowly losing our desire to
set out on new and exciting paths. If at times he makes us experience a
“miraculous catch”, it is because he wants us to discover that each of
us is called – in a variety of ways – to something grand, and that our
lives should not grow entangled in the nets of an ennui that dulls the
heart. Every vocation is a summons not to stand on the shore, nets in
hand, but to follow Jesus on the path he has marked out for us, for our
own happiness and for the good of those around us.

Embracing this promise naturally demands the courage to risk making a
decision. The first disciples, called by Jesus to be part of something
greater, “immediately left their nets and followed him” (Mk
1:18). Responding to the Lord’s call involves putting ourselves on the
line and facing a great challenge. It means being ready to leave behind
whatever would keep us tied to our little boat and prevent us from
making a definitive choice. We are called to be bold and decisive in
seeking God’s plan for our lives. Gazing out at the vast “ocean” of
vocation, we cannot remain content to repair our nets on the boat that
gives us security, but must trust instead in the Lord’s promise.

I think primarily of the call to the Christian life which all of us
received at Baptism. It teaches us that our life is not a fluke but
rather a gift: that of being God’s beloved children, gathered in the
great family of the Church. It is precisely in the ecclesial community
that the Christian life is born and develops, especially through the
liturgy. The liturgy introduces us to God’s word and the grace of the
sacraments; from an early age, we are taught the art of prayer and
fraternal sharing. In the end, the Church is our mother because she
brings us to new life and leads us to Christ. So we must love her, even
when we see her face marred by human frailty and sin, and we must help
to make her ever more beautiful and radiant, so that she can bear
witness to God’s love in the world.

The Christian life thus finds expression in those decisions that,
while giving a precise direction to our personal journey, also
contribute to the growth of God’s kingdom in our world. I think of the
decision to marry in Christ and to form a family, as well as all those
other vocations associated with work and professional life, with the
commitment to charity and solidarity, with social and political
responsibilities, and so forth. These vocations make us bearers of a
promise of goodness, love and justice, not only for ourselves but also
for our societies and cultures, which need courageous Christians and
authentic witnesses of the kingdom of God.

In encountering the Lord, some may feel the attraction of a call to
the consecrated life or to the ordained priesthood. It is a discovery
that can excite and at the same time frighten us, since we feel called
to become “fishers of men” in the barque of the Church by giving totally
of ourselves in commitment to faithful service of the Gospel and our
brothers and sisters. Such a decision carries the risk of leaving
everything behind to follow the Lord, to devote ourselves completely to
him, and to share in his work. Many kinds of interior resistance can
stand in the way of making this decision, especially in highly
secularized contexts where there no longer seems to be a place for God
and for the Gospel. Places where it is easy to grow discouraged and
fall into the “weariness of hope” (Homily at Mass with Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Movements, Panama, 26 January 2019).

And yet, there can be no greater joy than to risk one’s life for the
Lord! I would like to say this especially to you, the young. Do not be
deaf to the Lord’s call. If he calls you to follow this path, do not
pull your oars into the boat, but trust him. Do not yield to fear,
which paralyzes us before the great heights to which the Lord points
us. Always remember that to those who leave their nets and boat behind,
and follow him, the Lord promises the joy of a new life that can fill
our hearts and enliven our journey.

Dear friends, it is not always easy to discern our vocation and to
steer our life in the right direction. For this reason, there needs to
be a renewed commitment on the part of the whole Church – priests,
religious, pastoral workers and educators – to provide young people in
particular with opportunities for listening and discernment. There is a
need for a youth ministry and a vocational promotion that can open the
way to discovering God’s plan, above all through prayer, meditation on
God’s word, Eucharistic adoration and spiritual accompaniment.

As was made clear several times during the World Youth Day in Panama,
we should always look to Mary. Also in the story of this young woman,
vocation was both a promise and a risk. Her mission was not easy, yet
she did not allow fear to prevail. “It was the ‘yes’ of someone
prepared to be committed, someone willing to take a risk, ready to stake
everything she had, with no more security than the certainty of knowing
that she was the bearer of a promise. I ask each one of you: Do you
see yourselves as bearers of a promise? What promise do I bear within
my heart to take forward? Mary’s would undoubtedly be a difficult
mission, but the challenges that lay ahead were no reason to say ‘no’.
Things would get complicated, of course, but not in the same way as
happens when cowardice paralyzes us because things are not clear or sure
in advance” (Vigil with Young People, Panama, 26 January 2019).

On this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, let us join in prayer and
ask the Lord to help us discover his plan of love for our lives, and to
grant us the courage to walk in the path that, from the beginning, he
has chosen for each of us.